Led illumination system

ABSTRACT

The present invention is achieved with the object of providing an illumination system formed of an LED light emitting body and a socket which can appropriately release heat from LED chips. This object is achieved in the following manner. A heat conducting layer  12  made of diamond is provided on a substrate  11,  and on top of this, a conductive layer  13  having a predetermined pattern is formed. LED chips  16  are mounted in predetermined positions on the conductive layer  13.  Terminals of the conductive layer  13  and electrodes of the LED chips  16  are connected to each other. A connector part  14  for the connection to a socket is provided in an end portion of the substrate  11.  The heat conducting layer  12  on the connector part  14  makes thermal contact with the heat conducting layer provided on the inner surface of the opening of the socket. A current is supplied to respective LED chips  16  through the conductive layer  13  from the socket, and respective LED chips  16  emit light. Heat that is generated in the LED chips  16  is released to the outside of the illumination system from the socket through the conductive layer  13 , the heat conducting layer  12  and the connector part  14.  As a result of this, an increase in the temperature of the LED chips  16  can be prevented, and an LED illumination system that emits a large amount of light can be formed.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an illumination system that uses alight emitting diode (LED), and in particular to an LED illuminationsystem that emits a large amount of light.

BACKGROUND ART

As a result of the development of gallium nitride based LEDs (GaN-LEDs)that emit blue light, utilization of LEDs as illumination devices haverecently been the focus of attention. When used as an illuminationdevice, gallium nitride based LEDs have a variety of properties, such as(a) the life of elements is long, almost infinite for practical use, (b)energy efficiency is high, and little heat is released, (c) luminosityis high, (d) light controlling properties are excellent (a desired toneof color can be generated), and (e) the size of a single element is verysmall, making it possible to mount elements in a desired form, ascompared to conventional illumination devices, such as incandescentlight bulbs and fluorescent lamps.

It is desirable for white light to be gained in order to use LEDs aslight sources. In recent years, a white light source (white LEDs) hasbeen implemented by covering a GaN-LED with an yttrium aluminum garnetfluorescent thin film, and therefore, it can be expected that LEDillumination devices will be more widely used in the future.

It is necessary to make LED illumination devices easy to handle in thesame manner as conventional electric lamps and fluorescent lamps, inorder for LED illumination devices to gain widespread in household use.For example, though LEDs have a life that is longer than that ofconventional light bulbs and fluorescent tubes, still, in some cases, itbecomes necessary to change them in general homes. Therefore, it isdesirable for the attachment and removal of LED light sources (whichcorresponds to light bulbs and fluorescent tubes) to and fromillumination devices to be able to be carried out in the same manner asor more easily than conventional electric lamps and the like.

However, such LED illumination devices where attachment and removal ofan LED light source can be easily carried out have not been researched.

In addition, it is necessary to solve the problem where the temperatureof LED chips increases when supplied with a large amount of power, asdescribed below, when LEDs are used for an illumination device.

At present, the intensity of light flux that is gained from a white LED,as described above, is several lm (lumen) when the LED is in bullet form(having a diameter of 3 mm), and is several tens of lm when the LED isof a large area type with high brightness. However, it is necessary togain light flux of 1000 to several thousands of lm from such a whiteLED, in order for the white LED to be used as a light source for aliquid crystal projector or a light source for the headlights of anautomobile. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to supply power of20 W to 100 W or greater to the white LED, because the light emittingefficiency of white LEDs at present is approximately 25 (lm/W) at themaximum when the white LED is of a type that is currently in use, andapproximately 50 (lm/W) at the maximum when the white LED is of a typethat is prepared in a laboratory.

In the case where such a large amount of power is supplied to apresumably small mounting region for a light source as that describedabove, there is a risk that the LED chip may store heat and thetemperature may increase. In addition, even in the case where this heatis conveyed to the substrate on which the LED chip is mounted, thissubstrate stores heat, which increases the temperature, and thereby,there is a risk that the temperature of the LED chip may also increase.LEDs are semiconductor devices, and therefore, the higher thetemperature becomes, the higher the probability of occurrence ofnon-radiative recombination becomes, reducing the light emittingefficiency. Accordingly, it is necessary to appropriately release heatgenerated in an LED chip to the outside so as to prevent the temperatureof the LED chip from excessively increasing, in order to make an LEDillumination device emit a large amount of light efficiently.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-232009 describes therelease of heat from the surface of a conductive pattern for supplyingpower to LEDs which are provided on a flexible substrate (see [0050] andFIG. 4), and the release of heat from a fin for heat release made of asilicone resin which is provided on the rear surface of a flexiblesubstrate (see [0046] and FIG. 8). Here, concerning the material of theflexible substrate, there is a description “flexible resin member” in[0032]. Therefore, the function of a substrate in the release of heathas not yet been sufficiently looked into.

Meanwhile, the present inventors have proposed that an LED chip bemounted on a diamond substrate (or a substrate of which the surface iscovered with diamond or diamond carbon) in order to convey to theoutside heat that has been generated in the LED chip, in JapaneseUnexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-329896 (see [0020] and FIG. 3).The thermal conductivity of diamond at room temperature is approximately20 W/cmK, which is higher than that of a substrate that isconventionally used to mount an LED chip (sapphire, quartz, SiC, GaN,AlN or the like) by one digit to two digits. Therefore, the heat that isgenerated in an LED chip is absorbed by the diamond substrate so that anincrease in the temperature of the LED chip can be restricted.

The substrate for mounting an LED chip is as thin as several mm, so thatthe space for installment can be made small. Therefore, heat from theLED chip tends to be stored in the substrate. In Japanese UnexaminedPatent Publication No. 2002-329896, the heat that is absorbed by thediamond substrate is “released to the outside from the bottom and thesides” of the substrate ([0020]). However, in the case where the densityof installment of LEDs is further increased, release of heat from thesubstrate to the surrounding air becomes insufficient, making thetemperature of the substrate increase. Therefore, there is a risk thatthe heat generated in an LED chip may not be appropriately released.

The present invention is provided in order to solve such problems, andan object thereof is to provide an LED illumination system where an LEDlight source can be easily attached and removed. Another purpose of thepresent invention is to allow such an LED illumination system toappropriately release the heat that is generated in LEDs to the outsideof the system.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

An LED illumination system according to the present invention that isformed in order to solve the above described problems is characterizedby being provided with:

a) an LED module in which

a substrate,

a heat conducting layer provided on the substrate and made of aninsulating material,

a conductive layer provided on the heat conducting layer and having apredetermined pattern,

a light emitting diode chip provided in a predetermined position on theconductive layer,

a connector part having a module thermally contacting portion forconveying heat in the heat conductive layer and

a power supplying terminal provided in an end portion of the abovedescribed substrate,

are provided; and

b) a socket for supporting the above described connector part, in which

a socket thermally contacting portion having a surface contact with theabove described module thermally contacting portion, and

a terminal connected to the power supplying terminal of the abovedescribed connector part,

are provided.

An LED illumination system according to the present invention is formedof an LED module and a socket. From among these, the LED module is anLED light source which corresponds to a light bulb or a fluorescent tubein a conventional illumination device. The LED module is provided with aconnector part, and this connector part is attached to the socket, andthereby, one illumination system set is formed.

In the following, the respective configurations of the LED module andthe socket are described.

The LED module is formed as follows. The substrate that becomes thefoundation of the module also serves to absorb heat from LEDs.Concerning the material of the substrate, a substrate made of ceramicsor a single crystal of, for example, AIN, GaN, SiC or the like is used.A heat conducting layer made of an insulating material is provided onthe substrate. Concerning the material of the heat conducting layer, itis desirable to use diamond which has a thermal conductivity as high asapproximately 20 W/cmK (value at temperature of 298 K), diamond-likecarbon or carbon nanotubes having a thermal conductivity approximatelytwo times higher than diamond. A conductive layer having a predeterminedpattern is provided on the heat conducting layer. This predeterminedpattern forms terminals for supplying power to the conductive layer fromthe outside, and a circuit and terminals for supplying power to LEDchips from the conductive layer. In addition, a region that makessurface contact with LED chips may be provided on the conductive layer.The majority of regions of the conductive layer from which the portionsthat are required for electrical insulation from the terminals of theconductive layer can be used as the above described thermally contactingregion. As for the material of the conductive layer, gold having anexcellent conductivity and heat conducting properties, for example, isused. Electrodes of LED chips are connected to the above describedterminals of the conductive layer by means of soldering, and thus, theLED chips are provided. At this time, the LED chips make surface contactwith the heat conducting layer or the above described thermallycontacting region of the conductive layer.

The connector part for the connection with a socket is provided to anend portion of the LED module, as described above. This connector partis provided with a module thermally contacting portion that makesthermal surface contact with the below described socket thermallycontacting portion. It is desirable to use diamond, diamond-like carbonor carbon nanotubes for this module thermally contacting portion, in thesame manner as in the heat conducting layer. In addition, powersupplying terminals for supplying power are provided to the connectorpart. The connector part may be in male screw form, in the same manneras, for example, a light bulb, or it may be in plate form.

The socket has a structure for supporting the connector part of the LEDmodule. The inner side of the opening of the socket may have a malescrew form, in the same manner as the socket of a light bulb, or may bemade into a structure for securing the connector part in plate form bypinching it by means of a spring that is provided thereto, depending onthe form of the connector part. A socket thermally contacting portion isprovided in a portion on the inner side of the opening of the socketwhere the LED module makes surface contact with the module thermallycontacting portion when the LED module is attached to the socket. As aresult of this, the socket thermally contacting portion and the modulethermally contacting portion make thermal contact with each other. Inaddition, terminals are provided in portions that are connected to theabove described power supplying terminals of the connector part. Poweris supplied to the terminals of this socket, and thereby, power can besupplied to LED chips from the above described power supplying terminalsof the connector part through the conductive layer.

The LED module and the socket are formed as described above, andthereby, attachment and removal of the LED module can be easily carriedout. In addition, the power supplying terminals of the connector partand the terminals of the socket are connected to each other simply byattaching the LED module to the socket, and therefore, it is notnecessary to separately carry out a wiring process for supplying powerat the time of attachment or removal of the LED module.

Next, the process through which heat that has been generated in an LEDchip is released to the outside of the system in the LED illuminationsystem of the present invention is described. The heat of an LED chip isfirst conveyed to the thermally contacting region of the conductivelayer. The conductive layer has a predetermined pattern in layer form,and therefore, the heat diffuses through the entirety of the conductivelayer. In addition, the entirety of the conductive layer makes surfacecontact with the conductive layer, and therefore, this heat diffuses tothe heat conducting layer through the entirety of the conductive layer.

The heat that has diffused through the entirety of the LED module ispartially released to the surrounding air directly from the surface ofthe heat conducting layer, and furthermore, in the LED illuminationsystem of the present invention, the heat of the LED module is conveyedto the socket through the module thermally contacting portion and thesocket thermally contacting portion. This heat is released to thesurrounding air from the socket. In this configuration, the heat that isgenerated in an LED chip can be released to the surrounding air moreefficiently. Here, as described above, diamond, diamond-like carbon orcarbon nanotubes having a high thermal conductivity are used as thematerial for the heat conducting layer, and thereby, the heat of theheat conducting layer can be quickly conveyed to the module thermallycontacting portion. In addition, it is desirable for the modulethermally contacting portion and the socket thermally contacting portionto be formed of a material having a good heat conductance. Therefore,diamond, diamond-like carbon and carbon nanotubes, for example, can beused as the material for the two contacting parts, in the same manner asin the heat conducting layer. A metal may be used for a portion of thetwo contacting parts that does not make contact with the power supplyingterminals. Furthermore, it is desirable for the module thermallycontacting portion and the socket thermally contacting portion to have astructure where thermal contact is made by as large an area as possible,in order for the heat conductance between the two contacting parts to beas efficient as possible.

It is further desirable for the LED illumination system of the presentinvention to have a structure for releasing heat from the socket to thesurrounding air. The outside of the socket may have a structure in, forexample, fin form, so that heat can be released from the socket itself.In addition, heat may be released to the surrounding air from areflector for delivering light, which reflects light emitted by an LED.

Though in the above described configuration, the light emittingefficiency can be prevented in large part from lowering due to anincrease in the temperature of an LED chip, a temperature sensor fordetecting overheating of an LED chip may be provided, in order tofurther enhance safety. Though typically, a temperature sensor is placedin the proximity of an LED chip, so that the temperature of the LED chipcan be directly measured, a temperature sensor may be provided on thesurface of the conductive layer or the heat conducting layer, or buriedin the substrate so that the temperature in any of these portions can bemeasured, and the temperature of the LED chip can be measuredindirectly. When such a temperature sensor detects that the temperatureof an LED chip exceeds a predetermined temperature, the power supply tothe LED chip is reduced or stopped. After that, when the temperature ofthe LED chip becomes the above described predetermined temperature or apredetermined temperature that is lower than this, the amount of powersupplied to the LED chip is returned to the original. In addition, thetemperature of an LED chip that has been placed in the vicinity of thecenter increases more easily than that of an LED chip that has beenplaced in the vicinity of an end of the LED module, because the LED chipthat has been place in the vicinity of the center is easily affected byheat from surrounding LED chips, within the LED module. Therefore, it isdesirable to place a temperature sensor, as described above, in each LEDchip, so as to control the system in such a manner that the powersupplied to an LED chip of which the temperature exceeds a predeterminedvalue is reduced. In order to carry out such a control, it is desirablefor this LED illumination system to be provided with a control part forcontrolling the power supplied to LED chips in response to signalsreceived from the temperature sensors. This control part includes amemory part for storing a program for the control of the system.

The LED illumination system of the present invention allows the LEDmodule which corresponds to a conventional light bulb or the like to beeasily attached to and removed from the socket. As a result of this,handling of an LED illumination system of the present invention becomesas easy as or easier than that of a conventional electric lamp or thelike.

The LED module of the present invention is a light source that does notdeteriorate semi-permanently, and therefore, is not discarded, when itslife has expired, unlike conventional light bulbs and fluorescent tubes.In addition, it is possible to recycle LED modules that have becomeunnecessary at the user's convenience, for example, because the userwishes to renovate through construction, since the life of the LEDmodules is semi-permanent. Such recycling becomes easy according to thepresent invention, in which attachment and removal of LED modules ismade easier. As described above, an LED module of the present inventioncan be said to be a light source that is environmentally friendly.

In addition, in the LED illumination system of the present invention,heat from an LED chip is conveyed to the heat conducting layer via theconductive layer for supplying power, and thereby, heat from the LEDchip can be made to diffuse quickly through the heat conducting layer,by increasing the heat conducting efficiency between the LED chip andthe heat conducting layer. This becomes possible because the conductivelayer makes excellent thermal contact with both the LED chip and theheat conducting layer, and the conductive layer spreads in twodimensions in a predetermined pattern, providing a broad thermallycontacting portion vis-a-vis the heat conducting layer. Furthermore,thermally contacting portions having a high thermal conductivity arerespectively provided to the connector part of the LED module and thesocket, so as to make thermal surface contact between the two thermalcontacting parts and make heat from the LED module be conveyed to thesocket, and thereby, the heat from the LED module can be released to thesurrounding air through the socket. In the above describedconfiguration, an increase in the temperature of the LED chips can beprevented.

As described above, an increase in the temperature of LED chips isprevented, and therefore, it becomes possible to densely place LEDchips. Therefore, it becomes possible to implement an LED illuminationsystem that can emit a large amount of light.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1(a) to 1(e) are plan diagrams and cross sectional diagramsshowing an LED module of an LED illumination device according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an LED module according to anotherembodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a socket of an LED illuminationdevice according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 4(a) to 4(d) are diagrams illustrating the structure forattachment and removal of an LED module to and from the socket accordingto the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the connection of the LED module tothe socket according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating the current in the conductive layerin the LED module according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the socket where fins are providedon the external surface according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional diagram showing the LED illumination devicewhere a reflector is provided according to the present embodiment. and

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the LED module where a temperature sensoris provided according to the present embodiment.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1(a) to 1(e) show an LED module in an LED illumination systemaccording to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1(a) is aplan diagram showing the LED module before LED chips 16 is mounted. FIG.1(b) is a plan diagram showing the LED module that has been completed bymounting LED chips 16 on the LED module of FIG. 1(a). FIGS. 1(c) and1(d) show the LED module of FIG. 1(b) as viewed from directions A and B,respectively. FIG. 1(e) is a cross sectional diagram along broken lineC.

The configuration of this LED module is described below. Eight LED chips16 are mounted on this module. A heat conducting layer 12 made ofdiamond is formed on one surface of a substrate 11 made of AlN. Aconductive layer 13 having the pattern shown in FIG. 1(a) is formed onthe heat conducting layer 12. Gold is used as the material of theconductive layer 13. The pattern of the conductive layer 13 has positiveand negative terminals 131 and 132 for supplying power to respective LEDchips 16, thermally contacting portions 133 with the LEDs, and positiveand negative terminals 134 and 135 for supplying power to the conductivelayer 13. Eight LED chips 16 are mounted on the conductive layer 13 insuch a manner that positive and negative electrodes 171 and 172 of theLED chips 16 make contact with the above described terminals 131 and132, and the other regions make contact with the thermally contactingportions 133 (see FIG. 1(d)). Terminals 171 and 172 of each LED chip 16are connected to the terminals 131 and 132, respectively, by means ofsoldering.

A connector part 14 for connection to a socket is provided to an endportion of the substrate 11. The heat conducting layer 12 in thisconnector part 14 forms a module thermally contacting portion 15 thatmakes thermal contact with a socket. The above described terminals 134and 135 of the conductive layer 13 are formed on one surface of theconnector part 14. In addition, as shown in FIG. 1(e), a cut corner 111is provided along one side from among four sides in the direction of thedepth of the connector part 14.

In the case where the heat conducting layer 12 is made of a materialhaving a high heat conductance, such as carbon nanotubes, it is notnecessary to provide the heat conducting layer 12 on the entire surfaceof the substrate 11, as shown in FIG. 1, but rather, a predeterminedpattern which follows the shape of the conductive layer 13 may beformed, as shown in FIG. 2. In this configuration, the used amount ofmaterial of the heat conducting layer 12 can be reduced.

FIG. 3 shows a socket of an LED illumination device according to oneembodiment. A socket thermally contacting portion 22 is formed of alayer of which the material is diamond on one surface of the inner wallsof an opening 21 of the socket. Positive and negative terminals 231 and232 for supplying power to the positive and negative terminals 134 and135 of the above described connector part 14 are provided in portionsthat make contact with these terminals when the connector part 14 isinserted. In addition, a filled corner 211 is provided in the opening 21so as to follow the shape of the cut corner 111 of the connector part.This structure prevents the module from being inserted into the opening21 of the socket when the front and the rear of the module are inverted.The electrodes of the LEDs have polarities, and therefore, the positiveand negative terminals of the module should not be connected to theterminals of the socket in the wrong way by mistake, and such a problemdoes not arise in this structure.

In this socket, an LED module attaching and removing device, shown inFIGS. 4(a) to 4(d), is provided, in order to make the attachment andremoval of the LED module easy. As shown in FIG. 4(a), stoppers 33 areprovided on inner walls of a socket 31. Claws 331 at the ends of thesestoppers 33 can be made to protrude in the openings of the socket 31 bymeans of a spring force. When an LED module 32 is attached to thissocket 31, claws 331 of the stoppers 33 are pressed toward the outsideby the connector part of the LED module 32 (FIG. 4(b)). Therefore, theconnector part can be inserted all the way to the end of the socket 31.When notches 321 of the LED module 32 come to the sides of the claws331, the claws 331 engage with the notches 321 by means of spring force.As a result of this, the LED module 32 is fixed to the socket 31 (FIG.4(c)). When the LED module 32 is removed, a button 34 is pressed, sothat the claws 331 are pressed to the outside, releasing the LED module32 from its fixed state (FIG. 4(d)).

The connector part 14 of the LED module 10 of FIGS. 1 or 2 is insertedinto the opening 21 of the socket of FIG. 3 (see FIG. 5). As a result ofthis, the module thermally contacting portion 15 of the connector part14 and the socket thermally contacting portion 22 of socket 20 makesurface contact with each other.

Supply of power to the LED chips in the LED illumination deviceaccording to the present embodiment is describe in reference to FIG. 6,which shows the flow of current within the conductive layer 13. Directcurrent is supplied to the conductive layer 13 from the power supplythrough the positive and negative terminals 231 and 232 of the socketand the positive and negative terminals 134 and 135 of the connectorpart 14 of the LED module. The conductive layer 13 forms a circuit wherefour pairs of LED chips, in each pair of which the LED chips areconnected in parallel (for example, LED chips 161 and 162) are connectedin series.

Conveyance of heat that is generated in the LED chips in the LEDillumination device according to the present embodiment is describedbelow. Heat is conveyed from the LED chips 16 to the thermallycontacting portions 133 of the conductive layer 13. Heat that has flowedfrom the thermally contacting portions 133 is conveyed two dimensionallywithin the conductive layer 13. Heat is conveyed from the conductivelayer 13 to the heat conducting layer 12. At this time, heat is conveyedfrom the entirety of the conductive layer 13, and therefore, theefficiency of heat conductance is high. The heat of the heat conductinglayer 12 is conveyed from the module thermally contacting portion 15 ofthe connector part 14 to the socket through the socket thermallycontacting portion 22.

Next, several application examples of the present embodiment are shown.FIG. 7 shows a socket where fins 41 are attached to the externalsurface. These fins 41 can release heat that has been conveyed from theLED module to the socket efficiently to the surrounding air. It isdesirable to use a material that is excellent in the heat conductanceand insulation, such as alumina (Al₂O₃) or aluminum nitride (AlN)ceramics, as the material for the socket.

FIG. 8 shows an LED illumination device where a reflector 51 forreflecting light emitted by the LEDs is provided according to thepresent embodiment. The reflector 51 makes thermal contact with thebottom (substrate) of a socket 52 and an LED module 53. The heat of theLED module 53 is conveyed to the reflector 51 through the socket 52 anddirectly conveyed to the reflector 51 from the bottom of the LED module53, and thereby, released to the surrounding air efficiently.

FIG. 9 shows an LED module where a temperature sensor 61 made ofthermocouple is provided on the surface of the heat conducting layer 12,in the vicinity of the center. When the temperature of the portion wherethis temperature sensor is provided increases to a predeterminedtemperature, at which the LEDs overheat, the power supplied to the LEDsis cut off, preventing an increase in the temperature of the led chips.

1. An LED illumination system, comprising: a) an LED module in which asubstrate, a heat conducting layer provided on the substrate and made ofan insulating material, a conductive layer provided on the heatconducting layer and having a predetermined pattern, a light emittingdiode chip provided in a predetermined position on the conductive layer,a connector part having a module thermally contacting portion forconveying heat from the heat conducting layer and a power supplyingterminal provided in an end portion of said substrate, are provided; andb) a socket for supporting said connector part, in which a socketthermally contacting portion having a surface contact with said modulethermally contacting portion, and a terminal connected to the powersupplying terminal of said connector part, are provided.
 2. The LEDillumination system according to claim 1, wherein said heat conductinglayer is made of diamond, diamond-like carbon or carbon nanotubes. 3.The LED illumination system according to claim 1, wherein a reflectorfor reflecting light from a light emitting diode and releasing heat fromthe socket to the surrounding air is provided.
 4. The LED illuminationsystem according to claim 3, wherein the substrate of the LED modulemakes contact with said reflector.
 5. The LED illumination systemaccording to claim 1, wherein a temperature sensor is provided in saidLED module.
 6. The LED illumination system according to claim 5, whereina control part for controlling the power supplied to an LED chip inresponse to a signal that is received from said temperature sensor isprovided.
 7. An LED module, comprising: a) a substrate; b) a heatconducting layer provided on said substrate and made of an insulatingmaterial; c) a conductive layer provided on said heat conducting layerand having a predetermined pattern; d) a light emitting diode chipprovided in a predetermined position on said conductive layer; and e) aconnector part having a module thermally contacting portion forconveying heat from the substrate and the heat conducting layer and apower supply terminal, provided in an end portion of said substrate. 8.The LED module according to claim 7, wherein said heat conducting layeris made of diamond, diamond-like carbon or carbon nanotubes.
 9. The LEDmodule according to claim 7, wherein a temperature sensor is provided.10. A socket for an LED module, which is a socket for supporting theconnector part of the LED module according to claim 7, comprising: asocket thermally contacting portion for making a surface contact withthe module thermally contacting portion of the connector part; and aterminal connected to the power supply terminal of said connector part.11. The socket for an LED module according to claim 10, wherein a heatreleasing part for releasing heat to the surrounding air is providedaround the socket.
 12. The LED illumination system according to claim 2,wherein a reflector for reflecting light from a light emitting diode andreleasing heat from the socket to the surrounding air is provided. 13.The LED illumination system according to claim 2, wherein a temperaturesensor is provided in said LED module.
 14. The LED illumination systemaccording to claim 3, wherein a temperature sensor is provided in saidLED module.
 15. The LED illumination system according to claim 4,wherein a temperature sensor is provided in said LED module.
 16. The LEDmodule according to claim 8, wherein a temperature sensor is provided.17. A socket for an LED module, which is a socket for supporting theconnector part of the LED module according to claim 8, comprising: asocket thermally contacting portion for making a surface contact withthe module thermally contacting portion of the connector part; and aterminal connected to the power supply terminal of said connector part.18. A socket for an LED module, which is a socket for supporting theconnector part of the LED module according to claim 9, comprising: asocket thermally contacting portion for making a surface contact withthe module thermally contacting portion of the connector part; and aterminal connected to the power supply terminal of said connector part.